ING boosts renewable energy and limits oil & gas financing

ING has worked hard to build a 60% renewable lending book, outperforming the most ambitious Paris Agreement climate goal. We aim to increase new renewable energy financing by 50% by 2025 and will no longer finance new oil & gas fields.

These actions are in line with the International Energy Agency's "Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 Roadmap." According to the roadmap, there needs to be a significant investment in infrastructure and clean energy, which will reduce the demand for fossil fuels. The IEA and we both believe that the existing oil and gas fields can accommodate the reduced demand, so no new fields should be required.

The "Fit for 55" and "REPowerEU" plans of the European Union are also supported by these actions. Oil and gas supplies from existing fields, investments in clean energy and infrastructure for the electrified economy, and energy efficiency are additional important factors.

The head of ING's energy sector, Michiel de Haan, said, "The best way to reduce dependence on fossil fuels is to make sure there are enough readily accessible, reasonably priced green alternatives." These actions confirm that and demonstrate our commitment to using financing to aid in the energy transition.

In formulating ING's energy strategy, we strike a balance between three important interests: the need to decarbonize in order to combat climate change, the need for energy to continue to be accessible to consumers and businesses, and the need for supply security.

The actions we announced today continue a journey we started years ago. In terms of our portfolio of power generation, we committed in 2017 to shutting down coal-fired power plants by 2025 and have since reduced our exposure by 80%. The financing of power generation from renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, more than doubled at the same time and now accounts for nearly 60% of our portfolio of power generation.

The restriction made public today applies to upstream financing (lending or capital markets) for oil and gas fields that have been given the go-ahead to be developed after December 31, 2021. In addition, as part of our ongoing efforts to maintain energy security and affordability during the low-carbon transition, we will continue to offer financing to clients who actively contribute to maintaining oil and gas flow.

The announcement made today is a component of Terra's strategy to direct our portfolio in a direction that will achieve net zero global warming by 2050 by limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Please refer to our comprehensive climate report for more information.

Source: Ing newsroom